


Year One

by Masterless



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Shameless - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Friendship, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, maybe? - Freeform, sort of pre-slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 08:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4699745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterless/pseuds/Masterless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The two people in front of him were sorted, and soon Professor McGonagall was calling, “Gallagher, Ian!” and he had to walk to the stool. For a split second, he thought his legs had frozen. He got to the stool though, and soon the hat was put on his head, a slid down until it caught on his ears.<br/>“Hmmm….” a voice said in his ear. “Another Gallagher? Let’s see… Very brave. Not quite as smart of your brother…. afraid of living in his shadow, though, aren’t you? I see…. Well, it seems quite clear to me where you should be…” The hat was silent, and then the rip at the front of the hat opened, and it yelled, “Gryffindor!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Year One

“Mum, have you seen my jumper?”

There was a silence in the house.

“Mum?”

Fiona looked around the kitchen, frowning. She made her way back up the stairs, past Debbie’s room, and into Frank and Monica’s room. There was no one in the bed. Fiona’s frown grew, and went from room to room, floor to floor, looking for her mother.

“You okay, Fee?” little Ian asked. He was ten, only a year away from going to school.

“I can’t find mum,” Fiona said, sitting across from the red headed child. “Anywhere.”

“I’m sure she’ll be home soon,” Ian reasoned. “She always is.”

“Yeah, but last time she didn’t come home for three months and we all got separated.”

Ian shrugged. “Well, you and Lip’ll be at Hogwarts soon enough, so you’ll be fine.” Ian smiled. “I can hold down the fort.”

Fiona sighed, scrubbing her hands through her hair. “I don’t want you to have to take all responsibility.” 

Ian shrugged again. “I’m good.”

Fiona smiled ruefully, and opened her mouth to thank him when Lip ran down the stairs, and stood, transfixed, at the window.

“Has it come yet?” he asked, breathless.

Fiona laughed. “Not yet. But it’s early, just hold on.”

Lip grunted and nodded vaguely. He joined his siblings at the table, head still turned to the window, and coated his right hand with ketchup. “Oh.” He turned to the table, a sheepish grin on his face as Ian laughed wildly. “I guess I’ve got my mind on other things.”

Fiona rolled her eyes and smiled. “It’s your first year, you’re bound to be excited.”

Lip nodded. “It’ll be cool to meet all the guys you’ve shagged.”

Fiona hit him over the head and scowled while Ian laughed even louder.

***

It was a hard few weeks. Monica and Frank hadn’t shown up again, like Ian had predicted, and Fiona was biting her nails as she stood in front of the scarlet Hogwarts express. Ian was running around Platform 9 ¾, saying hi to anyone he knew. Lip was bouncing up and down on the heels on his feet, nervously clutching his wand case. Fiona noticed and wrapped an arm around her little brother’s shoulders.

“You’ll be fine,” she promised. “And with that big brain of yours, you’re sure to be sorted into Ravenclaw.”

“But!” Lip took in a large breath. “I want to be in Gryffindor, like you.”

Fiona smiled. “You’re too smart.”

Lip smiled weakly. Ian ran back over, looking freaked and a little flustered.

“You okay?” Fiona asked, kneeling in front of her brother. “What happened?”

“Mandy Milkovich cornered me and tried to kiss me!” Ian squealed. “It was gross!”

Fiona laughed. “Yeah. The Milkovich’s can be like that.” She looked up at Lip. “Isn’t Mickey gonna be in your year?”

“He’s actually my age!” Ian blurted. “He and Mandy are twins!”

Fiona laughed and nodded. “Okay, then.”

The train whistle blew, and Lip jumped visibly.

“Write to me!” Ian yelled. “Everyday!”

“No!” Lip exclaimed. “I’m not gonna be gone that long. I’ll see you at Christmas!”

Fiona looked around once more. “Mum hasn’t gotten home.”

“How’d you know?” Lip asked, as they all made their way to one of the train doors.

“I left her a note to come and pick up Ian…” 

Ian looked frightened. “I can’t make it all the way home from King’s Cross!” Tears bubbled in the corners of his eyes. “I don’t know the way!”

Fiona hugged him close, and pulled Lip in, too. “Lip, have fun at school. You’ll learn so much and make so many friends, I promise.”

Lip hopped up onto the train, and turned to give Fiona a hand up, but she closed the door and shook her head. Lip watched with wide, frightened eyes as the train started to move, leaving Fiona and a crying Ian on the platform behind.

***

Ian was sat in the kitchen, hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate, while Fiona phoned everyone they knew, asking if they had seen Monica or Frank. No one had. At this point, it wasn’t as earth shattering as it had been the first time they took off. It was more of an annoyance, but Ian saw it as the world ending. Not for himself, of course, he couldn’t give two shits if Monica and Frank disappeared, but it was the end of Fiona’s world to him. She had purposefully missed the train, purposefully missed going to Hogwarts. She wouldn’t get her O.W.L.’s, or her N.E.W.T.’s, and she wouldn’t learn all the spells she would have, that she should have. Ian was devastated for her.  
Frank showed up three weeks later, and did a double take when he saw Fiona at the kitchen table, serving her little siblings breakfast. 

“The fuck are you doing here?” he grunted. “Shouldn’t you be at… pigfarts or something?”

“Hogwarts,” Fiona mumbled. “And there wasn’t anyone home to take care of the little ones, so I had to come home.”

“Whatever.” Frank stumbled into the living room, and collapsed onto the sofa. He stank of beer and smoke.

“Frank,” Fiona called. “Frank!”

“What?” he grumbled. “The fuck do you want?”

“Where were you?” Fiona stood over him with her hands on her hips. “Where the fuck is Monica?”

“I don’t know!” Frank sat up with a groan, and glared up at his oldest child. “And it’s none of your business where I went!”

“Yes it is!” Fiona was growing red in the face. “You have three kids to look after here! Ian, Debbie, Carl! Ian would have been stranded at King’s Cross Station if I hadn’t come home! Debbie and Carl would have been left with Kev and Vee!”

“The muggles?” Frank stood and pushed past Fiona. “You don’t leave my kids with those filthy fucking muggles!”

“For your information, Veronica is a muggle born, and Kevin is a squib! They know about our world, they know what the fuck they’re doing!”

“You don’t leave my kids with a mudblood and a squib, then!” Frank roared.

“Don’t you dare call her that!” Fiona was fuming, and yanked the bread Frank had grabbed out of his hand. She pointed to the door. “Leave! Now, Frank!”

Frank looked at her in shock, and puffed up his chest. “No one pushes me out of my own house! You ungrateful little bit-”

“Shut up!” Ian yelled, running over and pushing Frank. “Shut up!”

“You little fucker!” Frank yelled, face a mask of rage, and his bony fist connected with Ian’s skull, knocking the small boy to the floor.

“Frank!” Fiona screamed. She slapped her hands against his chest repeatedly, causing the drunk to stumble again. “Out! Get out!”

Frank pushed past her, and stormed up the stairs.

“Oh, Ian!” Fiona collapsed to the floor next to him. “Are you okay?”

Ian was crying, a small scrape on his forehead from Frank’s ring was bleeding, and he was even paler than normal. “N-no…”

Fiona wrapped her arms around her brother and Debbie and Carl waddled over from their hiding places under the table. They hugged baby arms around the two of them. “You’ll be alright.”

Ian nodded, and couldn’t wait for the day would come when he went to Hogwarts.

***

It had been a year. Three letters had come from Hogwarts, inquiring as to why Fiona wasn’t there. She wrote back to explain, and they wrote back to offer help, but she wrote back to thankfully refuse, and their last letter was to tell her that she would always be welcome back at Hogwarts. Fiona had cried at that letter, because she knew she’d never go back.  
Lip was back, telling Ian all about his time at school, all the spells he learned and all the homework he was actually excited about doing. Ian sat patiently every morning near the window for that special owl, for that owl that would bring him his first list of needs for school. That owl that would finally let him into the world of his older siblings. As it got closer to the beginning of the new school year, Ian was the first to wake up, the first to the window, the first to ask what had been delivered.

“It’s here!” Ian shouted as the school owl landed on the kitchen table. “Fiona!”

Lip was the first to get to the letters. He opened it, pulled out his letter, and frowned into the envelope. “That’s weird.”

Ian went stiff. “What?” he whispered.

“They didn’t send you a letter.” Lip shrugged and stuck the envelope under his arm, and opened his own letter. “This in’t gonna be cheap, Fe.”

“What?!” Ian yelled. “No! I- I have magic! I’m a wizard!” He turned teary eyes on Fiona, who was frowning at Lip. “Fiona, I’m a wizard!”

“Lip,” Fiona warned. “Give him his letter.”

“No, really!” But Lip could hold in his laughter any more, and threw the envelope to Ian, who, and the same moment, banged the table, sending a large amount of strawberry jam flying at Lip’s face.

“You asshole!” Ian yelled, grabbing his letter.

Fiona shook her head at Lip and brushed a fallen tear off Ian’s right cheek as he read out his letter.

“Dear Ian Gallagher - that’s me! Fiona! I’m in! - We are please to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Ian turned a beaming smile to his siblings. “Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July. Signed, Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress.” Ian pulled out another sheet of thick parchment, and frowned. “This isn’t gonna be cheap.”

“Don’t think of that,” Fiona said. “What do you need?”

“Um…” Ian flicked his eyes down the list. “First-year students will require: 1. Three sets of plain work robes (black), 2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear, 3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), 4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings).” He smiled a little. “But I don’t need a pet, so we don’t need to spend money on one.”

“What books do you need?”

“The same ones I used,” Lip said. “He can have my old ones.”

“No, he can have mine,” Fiona said. “I won’t need them, anyway.”

Ian and Lip were silent as they watched their sister. She smiled tightly, and patted Ian’s shoulder. 

“You’ll need a wand,” she said brightly.

A look of excitement passed over Ian’s face. “Yeah! And a cauldron, and supplies, and robes, and-”

“I need new robes,” Lip interrupted. “So Ian can have mine from last year.”

“But-”

“That’s a good idea,” Fiona sighed. “We need to save money for when Debbie gets in.”

Ian sighed, unnoticed, used to it. He followed Lip up to their room when he beckoned, and stared at the robes hanging in the cupboard. He knew, when he was older, he’d be taller than Lip. He just hadn’t reached his growing spurt yet, and now stood half a head shorter than his blond brother. The sleek, shiny Ravenclaw tie was still around one of the shirt's collar, and Lip removed it quickly.

“Come on, you’ve got to start packing,” Lip said. “Pack plenty of warm clothes, and socks, because mine always went missing. Bring some muggle clothes for the weekend, and on days off, but don’t wear them to class.” Lip pulled down all his old robes, and plopped them onto Ian’s bed, where his little brother was sat, fiddling with his hands. “Now what? You’ve been talking about nothing but going to Hogwarts for months, years even, and now you’ve gone all silent.”

Ian shrugged.

Lip sighed and sat next to his little brother. “I know it seems scary. But you’ll make good friends.”

“What if I don’t fit in?” Ian asked. “Or, if I don’t know enough magic already?”

“The point of going to Hogwarts is to learn magic,” Lip laughed. “They don’t expect you to know already. And anyway, Fiona-”

“What about me?” Fiona asked as she walked in, her arms full of books. “These might be a little frayed at some ends, but you’ll be fine.” She dumped them on top of Lip’s old robes. “What about me?”

“Fiona wouldn’t let you go to school unprepared,” Lip finished.

Fiona shook her head, and left the room to haul in her old trunk and cauldron. “You might need to scrape off some stickers of Pokemon that Carl’s stuck on, but it’s almost as good as new.”

Ian smiled. “It’s perfect.” He stood and hugged Fiona around the middle, his head resting softly on her stomach. “And I’m gonna have so much fun.”

***

Ian didn’t like the inside of the Leaky Cauldron. It smelt like Frank and it was dark, but the people there were nice enough. Kevin, their neighbour, bartended here, and Veronica, his girlfriend, worked as a maid in the inn. They were two of the best people Ian knew, so he rationed that it wasn’t the worst place in the world. Fiona and her gang of younger siblings ate in the pub before going into Diagon Alley.

“I wouldn’t have the pea soup,” Veronica warned as she sat next to Fiona at their table.

Kev came over to take the order, and smiled when he recognized the gallagher’s. “Sup, guys?”

“School shopping,” Fiona supplied. “It’s Ian’s first year.”

“Man,” Kevin sighed happily. “That must be exciting.”

Ian nodded, but his face was rather pale.

“So what can I get you?” Kevin asked, looking around the table.

“Three plates of bangers and mash, four pumpkin juices, and one butterbeer,” Fiona ordered. “If thats okay?”

“Fe, I can’t really deny you food,” Kev pointed out. “I’ll bring your food out when it’s done.”

There was yelling from overhead as Stan, the owner, went on another long tirade again imagined Death Eaters.

“I gotta go check on him,” Veronica sighed. “You still up for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah,” Fiona said. “You bring the sauce, I’ll bring the pasta!”

“Fiona?” Ian asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“There’s a creepy guy staring at me.” He nodded left with his curly head, and Fiona glanced over to one of the pub’s patrons. He was in his late twenties, dark skinned, and weak looking. He was indeed looking over at Ian with lusty eyes, and Fiona didn’t like it.

“Here you go!” Kevin exclaimed as he returned with the drinks. “Anything else I can do for you while you wait?”

“Yeah,” Fiona said. “Who’s that creep over there?”

“Oh, him?” Kevin shrugged. “His name’s Kash or something. He’s a regular.”

“Can you tell him to stop ogling my little brother?”

Kevin scowled at Kash. “Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

At the end of a rather short, and rather loud, conversation about pedafillia, Kash was thrown from pub just in time for the Gallagher’s food to be read. 

“Eat up, kids!” Kevin said, ruffling Carl’s short brown hair. The toddler laughed.

After their meal, they finally went to Diagon Alley, and Ian rushed over the cobbled stones to the front of Ollivander's. 

“Fiona, I need to go in!” Ian begged. “Please!”

“We need to go to Gringotts first, silly!”

“You get the money, I’ll take him in,” Lip said, pulling his brother away from the window.

Ian was shaking with excitement when they entered the dusty shop. An older than time looking man stood at the front desk, putting away numerous wands.

“Hello,” he croaked. “Need a wand?”

“Yes please,” Ian said with great gusto. “I’m going to Hogwarts this year!”

“I see,” the old man chuckled. “Well, let’s try out some wands, then.”

Ian bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited, and eagerly gripped the wand that Mr. Ollivander passed him. With a small swish, it flew out of Ian’s hand, and smacked Lip right in between the eyes.

“No, then,” Mr. Ollivander gasped.

It took nearly half an hour for them to find the perfect wand for Ian. It felt balanced in his hand, and warm to the touch. The tip began to glow, and Lip ducked slightly, not wanting to be hit again. The wand filled Ian with a full feeling, like after a good meal. It was dark, with a band of gold where the hand piece ended and the wand part started, and a slight twist in the carving near the band. It had a flower bud shape carved into the end of the handle, and Ian loved it instantly.

“A good wand,” Mr. Ollivander said, nodding to Fiona as she walked in. “Ebony wood, with a unicorn hair core, sturdy, 12 ½ inches, and-”

The front door opened again, the bell tinkling loudly. A large, angry man pushed Ian aside and glared at Mr. Ollivander. “My twins need wands.”

Mr. Ollivander puffed up his thin chest, and glared right back at the angry man. “Well, you’ll just have to wait your turn, sir. As you can see, I am already helping a customer!”

“We can pay,” Fiona rushed out, pulling out her faded blue coin bag. She slammed the right amount of change on the counter, and picked up the wand case. She thrust it into Ian’s hands and they were almost out the door when Mandy Milkovich bumped into them.

“Ian!” she squealed. “Did you just get your wand?”

“Yeah,” he answered, shaken. 

“You have to wait and see me get mine!” Mandy took a firm grip on Ian’s wrist and pulled him back into the shop. Fiona followed, holding Carl close to her on her hip.

“Mandy, we need to get some other things for him, and-” she began.

“But can’t you get them for him?” Mandy asked politely. “I haven’t seen Ian in so long, and I really want to hang out with him!”

Fiona flicked worried eyes over to the angry man, who must have been Terry Milkovich, and sighed, before nodding. “Okay. But don’t leave the shop.”

“Okay!” Mandy said brightly. “Come on, Ian, we have to wait until my dumb brother gets his wand first.”

They sat in two wicker chairs and watched as her brother, Mickey, stood in front of Mr. Ollivander, getting his wand. It didn’t take as long as Ian, but Mr. Milkovich seemed to think it took too long anyway. The want he wanted Mickey to get was a 7 inch holly stick with unicorn hair, but it seemed to leap out of Mickey’s hand when he held it. The wand that fit made Mr. Milkovich angry. Well, angrier.

“You telling me that my son’s “match” wand is some faggy peice of shit?” he roared.

Ian thought it was beautiful. It was birch, with a triple spiral up its shaft. The handle was simple and thin, with three gems inlaid right above. They were two orange moonstone cabochons with an amethyst in the middle of the small line. It was 13 inches long, with a dragon heartstring. It was swishy, and pliable.

“Please, sir!” Mr. Ollivander was growing even more flustered. “It is a fine piece of wood work!”

“Whatever,” Terry grumbled, and motioned for Mandy to come forward.

The third wand that Mandy was presented with was a fit. It was a peach wood wand with a hollow, twisted handle, and a golden ball over the handle. It was 11 ½ inches, with a thestral tail hair core. It was powerful, and unweilding. A good wand, according to Mr. Ollivander.

Terry snarled as he slapped down the money to pay for his kids wands. Mickey was staring at his wand with a mixture of awe and disgust on his face. Up close, Ian thought it looked even prettier. He hadn’t noticed, but it had a quartz stone at the bottom of its handle. Mickey looked up and caught Ian staring, blushed, and glared at the younger boy.

“Fuck off,” he snapped.

“Sorry,” Ian mumbled.

“See you on the train, Ian!” Mandy yelled as they left the store.

***

Ian stood in front of the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, breathing deeply and waiting for the muggles to thin out before passing through. When they did, he pushed his trolley into the wall, and walked onto the platform, wheeling his trunk to the train. Fiona followed soon after, holding Carl and Debbie, and Lip took up the rear. He smirked as he saw his friend, Karen Jackson, and strutted over to her, leaving his family behind.

“Hi, Ian.”

Ian turned and saw Mandy behind him, holding a disgruntled looking tabby cat. “Hi, Mandy.”

“So, what house do you think you’ll be in?”

“I don’t know.” They made their way over to the train and heaved their trunk’s in, trying to find an empty compartment. They found Mickey near the very end of the train, and sat with him. Ian noticed a large purple bruise on Mickey’s neck that hadn’t been there the week before. He glared again at Ian, but his gaze softened when Mandy stepped in after.

“The fuck do you want?” Mickey grumbled.

“No where else was empty,” Mandy grumbled back.

Mickey huffed and folded his arms, but let them stay. "Just don't be pissed when Iggy and Colin come in."

Mandy shrugged. “So, Ian. What house do you want to be in?”

“Like I said before, I don’t know.”

“Well, I want to be in Gryffindor. That’s for the brave people.”

“You’ll be in Hufflepuff,” Mickey snarked, and Mandy smacked him.

“You jerk, that’s an awful thing to say!” Mandy kept hitting Mickey. “Take it back, jackass!”

“Oh, bitch, stop hitting me!” Mickey yelled.

Mandy turned large, dark eyes on Ian. “You don’t think I’ll be in Hufflepuff, do you, Ian?”

“Uhhmmm…” Ian shrugged. “No?”

“See?” Mandy hit Mickey one more time, pouting. “I’m not going to be in Hufflepuff!”

“No, you’re going to be in Slytherin because you’re a bitch!”

“Who’s a bitch?”

Two boys stood at the door, one sandy haired and one brown haired, both a little thuggish, and both obviously brothers. The blond one was a third year, and the brown haired one  
was a sixth year, by the looks of it. Mickey crossed his arms and pouted, glaring out the window.

“Mickey called me a bitch,” Mandy said, her nose held high. “Twice.”

“Not cool, little brother,” blondie said. “Not cool. What would dad say?”

Mickey shrugged, but seemed to shrink a little in his seat by the window. They were passing open fields now, far away from London. Ian looked out with excitement, hoping to catch a glimpse of the school around every bend they came around. The trees were passing by with great speed and looked like a blur. Ian didn’t notice the two older boys going away and coming back with their trunks, stuffing them into the holders with Ian’s.

“Who’s the redhead?” blondie asked.

“That’s Ian,” Mickey said sarcastically. “The kid Mandy’s been gushing about.”

“Shut up!” Mandy was hitting Mickey again.

But Ian wasn’t really paying attention. He was looking at one of the older boys trunks, which seemed to be inching forwards at an alarming rate. “Uh.” Ian pointed towards it, just as it fell and sprang open. A tall, angry man stepped out of the box, glaring down at Mickey, who went even paler.

“Fuck! It got out!” the brown haired boy yelled. He pulled out his wand, pointed it at the man, and shouted, “Riddikulus!”

The man shrank to almost an inch tall, and the blond haired boy broke out cackling.

“Why the fuck did you bring the boggart to school?!” Mickey nearly screamed.

“To pull pranks in the Slytherin common rooms,” blondie said.

Mandy looked apologetically at Ian, who was huddled in the corner. “Please excuse Iggy and Colin. They’re too dumb to be harmful.”

“Hey!” the blond, Iggy, said. “Shut the fuck up!”

“It’s true,” Mickey huffed, looking back out the window.

“Fuck off,” Colin muttered.

Ian just nodded. 

***

The rest of the train ride went off without a hitch, and only got heated again when Iggy and Mickey stole enough pumpkin pasties to feed a small army, but the trolley lady passed on with a simple glare on her face. Ian tried to buy a chocolate frog, but he didn’t have enough. She looked at him with pity, and gave him two. When he sat back down, Iggy, Collin, and Mickey were smiling at him with dangerous gleams in their eyes.

“You’re going to be useful, new best friend,” Iggy said, wrapping an arm around Ian’s skinny shoulders. “An innocent looking boy like you? You’ll be able to do anything.”

“Filch’ll be a trick, through,” Colin said, munching on a pasty. “He doesn’t melt at a kids face like the ladies.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Mickey reassured. “We’ll have lots of fun with him around.”

Ian swallowed one of the frogs heads and looked down at his card. Harry Potter. Again.

“Can I have that?” Mickey asked. “I don’t have Harry Potter.”

“He’s one of the most common famous wizards of the twentieth century.” Ian handed him the card. “I have about fifteen of him.”

“How many cards do you have?”

“Over two hundred. I just need Merlin, Morgana, and Ron Weasley.”

Mickey looked at him with a mix of amusement and awe on his face. “We don’t get much chocolate at home, so I only have ten.”

“Mick, shut up about home,” Colin snapped. “We’re going to Hogwarts. It’s so much better.”

The train was coming to a halt.

“Shit, we need to be in our robes,” Iggy said.

There was a rush as they all grabbed their robes. Mandy snorted at the sight of Ian’s rolled up cuffs. “Where did you get those?”

“My brother,” Ian mumbled, reaching up for his trunk.

“You leave that here,” Iggy explained softly. “You guys will be on the boats, so follow Hagrid.”

They were filing out into the passageway, and Mickey grabbed a hold of the back of Ian’s robes. Ian pretended not to notice.

“How will we know who Hagrid is?” Mickey whined from behind Ian.

Iggy laughed. “Oh, you’ll know.”

***

They did. Hagrid stood before them, taller than even the tallest student on the platform. Mickey was still holding onto Ian, and now Mandy was, too. She was holding his left hand, while Mickey’s fist was still clenched onto the back of Ian’s robes. He didn’t seem to notice he was doing it, but Ian understood how he felt. The two older boys gave their younger siblings fleeting hugs and told them they’d see them later. Lip shoved his way over and hugged Ian, before telling him not to fall into the lake.

“And don’t worry,” Lip shouted over the roar of the crowd. “The giant squid hasn’t eaten anyone in a while!”

He walked away laughing, and Ian felt both Milkovich kids’ hands grow tighter on the respective parts of his person. 

“Firs’ years this way!” Hagrid bellowed. He was a giant of a man, with long, wild brown hair, and a long, wild brown beard. They were both tinted with grey, and his voice was starting to show signs of age, too.

The first years followed Hagrid, and Mickey and Mandy quickly pushed away the kids that tried to get into the same boat as Ian. Ian could understand Mandy clinging to him, but not Mickey. Why did Mickey seem so scared? He was a Milkovich. They were the toughest, scariest wizarding family since the Riddles. Terry Milkovich himself had been a Death Eater sympathiser, and he raised his kids in the same mind frame as himself. So why was Mickey so afraid?

Ian caught Mickey’s eyes and Mickey gave him a pale, faint smile. Ian beamed at him, and reached into his pocket to get his last chocolate frog. “Here.” Mickey took it hesitantly. 

“So you can keep building your collection.”

Mickey smiled, and slipped it into his robes pocket.

The boats were soon at the dock, and they were led up to the Entrance Hall by a stern looking witch with grey hair in a tight bun. They were to line up in alphabetical order, and wait to be led into the Great Hall. Ian was surprisingly near the front of the line, only three back. The stern witch, who turned out to be Headmistress McGonagall, led the line in, and Ian saw the vast hall for the first time. The thing that really took his breath away was the ceiling. It looked like the night sky, with thousands of candles just hanging in the air. He nearly stopped dead when he saw it.

Ian saw Lip waving from the Ravenclaw table, in his new robes and shiny tie. Ian waved back, and nearly tripped as they came to a halt in front of an old hat on a stool. Ian remembered Lip telling him what it was. It was the Sorting Hat, and it would tell them what house they would be in. Ian didn’t notice the hat was singing until it was over, and frowned as he tried to remember what it had said. Something about this being a new generation, about it being something good. He didn’t know.

The two people in front of him were sorted, and soon Professor McGonagall was calling, “Gallagher, Ian!” and he had to walk to the stool. For a split second, he thought his legs had frozen. He got to the stool though, and soon the hat was put on his head, a slid down until it caught on his ears.

“Hmmm….” a voice said in his ear. “Another Gallagher? Let’s see… Very brave. Not quite as smart of your brother…. afraid of living in his shadow, though, aren’t you? I see…. Well, it seems quite clear to me where you should be…” The hat was silent, and then the rip at the front of the hat opened, and it yelled, “Gryffindor!”

Ian’s shoulders sagged in relief, and he went to join his fellow cheering housemates. Mickey smiled at him as he passed, and Mandy winked. Ian went to sit next to another ginger kid, but was soon waved on further down the table by Iggy.

“Good to see you,” he smiled. “What did the hat say to you?”

“That I was brave?” Ian repeated. “And that I would be good here.”

“The hat was stuck between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for me,” Iggy said, speaking in a low voice as not to disturb those around him. “And I think it was leaning towards Hufflepuff before I asked it to put me in Gryffindor.”

“What’s Gryffindor like?” Ian asked, eyes wide.

“Well, it’s…” 

And Iggy went on until they heard, “Milkovich, Amanda!”

Mandy walked up to the stool, sat, and they waited all of five seconds before the hat bellowed, “Slytherin!”

The Slytherin house clapped and Mandy went to join them.

“Milkovich, Michael!”

Ian smiled encouragingly up at Mickey, and Mickey gave him a small return before the hat dropped down over his eyes. There was silence. The hat didn’t open, didn’t speak anything.

“Why is it taking so long?” Iggy whispered.

But then, as if on cue, the hat opened and yelled, “Hufflepuff!”

“What?” Iggy bellowed.

The Hufflepuff house, though, was clapping and welcoming Mickey into their folds. He looked pale and frightened, sitting between two fifth years. He looked like he was going to be sick, and Iggy was frowning beside Ian.

“What’s up?” Ian asked, as the last of the students were sorted. “What’s wrong with him being in Hufflepuff?”

“Nothing,” Iggy said, shrugging. “I just thought he’d be in Slytherin. And dad might beat the living shit out of him when we go home for summer.”

Ian frowned. “That’s not very nice. Does he do that a lot?”

“Yeah, but we’ve gotten good at avoiding it. Mickey especially, because of how small he is, and the whole debacle about his wand. It’s a fucking cool wand, but dad thinks it’s too gay.”

“Why does that even matter?” Ian asked. “My mum’s a lesbia- whoa!”

Suddenly, there was food on golden plates in front of him. Piles of potatoes, sausages, chicken, steaks, chips, yorkshire puddings, turkey, so much food that Ian couldn’t keep track of it.

“Cool, isn’t it?” Iggy laughed at Ian’s shocked face. “Your mum’s a lesbian?”

“Well, she was before my youngest brother was born.” Ian shrugged and helped himself to some mashed potatoes and turkey, pouring a decent amount of gravy on top. “None of us care, really.”

“Well, your family isn’t the same as mine,” Iggy said nonchalantly. “We’re just rougher.”

Ian looked over at Mickey during the feast, and saw the youngest Milkovich boy halfheartedly nibbling on a piece of chicken. His eyes were downcast, but he raised them when he felt someone looking at him. He smiled weakly at Ian, who smiled back. They kept looking at each other for a few minutes, Ian pulling faces and trying to cheer Mickey up, before the headmistress called for the prefects to take the houses to their dormitories.

The Gryffindor’s filed out second to last, and Ian managed to get close enough to Mickey to give him a brief hug. “You’ll be fine!”

Mickey nodded, and followed the other Hufflepuff’s to their dorms.

The Gryffindor common room was behind a portrait of a rather large woman in a pink dress. The prefect turned and looked at all the gathered students. “The first password this year is Mandrake Root, and you need to tell her this to get into the common rooms. The password changes frequently, so keep on top of them. You cannot enter to the Gryffindor tower through any other means.”

They all piled inside of the common rooms, and listened to the prefect direct which way to go. Iggy pulled on Ian’s sleeve, winking.

“Come on, the boys dorm is this way. You’ll be at the top, since that’s where the first years are this year.” He ran up the stairs making sure that Ian followed, and stopped at the third from the top landing. “This is my dorm, so if you ever need anything, just ask, okay?”

“Okay.” Ian was silent as Iggy went into the dorm, and blurted, just as Iggy was about to close the door. “Iggy?”

“Yeah?” Iggy raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Iggy was silent for a moment, thinking. “Because there’s something about you that makes me think that you’ll be important to my family one day.”

Ian nodded, but was left confused as he walked up to his dorm. He looked around at the five fourposter beds, the gold and crimson hanging, the tall windows. He sat on the bed with his trunk at the end of it, took off his shoes, and picked up the new Gryffindor tie on his bedside cabinet. Ian removed his black one, and his robes, and curled up under the thick duvet on his bed in his boxers.

It was so different from the Gallagher house, but it seemed like it could be a second home.

***

Classes were great. Ian's favorite was Defense Against the Dark Arts. He heard from Lip that Gryffindor's usually had classes with the Slytherin's, but because of the new Slytherin and Gryffindor classes were so big, the Hufflepuff's were put in with the Gryffindor's. Ian took the empty seat next to Mickey on the first day, and he looked like he hadn't slept. 

"Hi, Mickey," Ian said as he placed his bag under his chair. 

"What?" Mickey snapped.

Ian pursed his lips. "I was just saying hi."

"What do you want, Gallagher?"

"To say hi."

"Well, you said it. Now can you leave me alone?"

Ian was silent for a moment, staring at Mickey out of the corner of his eye. He then smiled, and nudged Mickey with his shoulder. "You'll be fine."

Mickey looked at Ian with a mix of shock and anger. "Who the fuck do you think you are? What the fuck do you think you know about my fucking li-"

"Mr. Milkovich!" The teacher strode into the classroom, his robes swishing around his legs. "What you say in your free time is up to you, but I will not have that sort of language in my class. Five points from Slytherin."

"I'm not in Slytherin!" Mickey glared at the teacher. He was an auror, volunteering to teach that year. People still thought that the job was jinxed. Ian was pretty sure that it was Harry Potter's bestfriend and brother in law, Ron Weasley. Ian looked up at the auror with admiration in his eyes.

"Oh." Professor Weasley seemed taken aback. "It's just the Milkovich's are usually in Slytherin. You're a Hufflepuff. Okay, five points from Hufflepuff."

"Why aren't you taking points from him, too?" Mickey pointed an accusing finger at Ian's chest. "He started it!"

"Mr. Milkovich, I'm not going to talk about this anymore."

Mickey pouted for the rest of the class. After class, Ian had to run to catch up with him. 

"I'm sorry, Mickey, I just wanted to make you feel better," Ian explained. "I just... Fucked up, I guess."

Mickey looked at him, eyeing him up and down. "Whatever." He nodded his head towards one of the courtyards. "You wanna skip class and smoke?"

Ian smiled and nodded.

They sat against the wall, so they couldn't be seen from the entrance, and Mickey fished a pack of smokes from his bag. "I got Iggy to smuggle them in. And Dad sends them to Colin if he asks." He lit the cigarette, and Ian watched as the end of it turned bright orange. Mickey passed it to the redhead, and Ian took a puff as Mickey watched. He breathed out the fumes and handed it back to Mickey.

"You're okay, Gallagher," Mickey mumbled. "Sorry I freaked at you."

Ian shrugged. "I had no right to say that stuff."

"No one really cares enough about is to ask." Mickey smirked sadly. "It came as a shock."

Ian rested his head on Mickey's shoulder, and was surprised that he wasn't shoved off. "Well, now you've got someone."

Mickey smiled, knowing Ian couldn't see.

***

The two became like Siamese twins, nearly joined at the hip. People were confused at first, because the Milkovich's generally didn't have friends, unless you were a girl. But then again, Milkovich's weren't normally Hufflepuff's, so people's confusion passed quick enough. Mickey had all the makings of a Hufflepuff. He was kind, caring, loyal, humble. Well, at least he was around Ian. Around anyone else, he had a hard, Slytherin shell. Ian loved it. Mickey was kind to him, and showed him amazing things that Ian didn’t even know existed. Mostly wild and exotic plants that grew in the Hufflepuff common rooms, which Mickey never told Ian the password for, but Ian knew it was in the basement. He was the only outsider who was allowed into the Hufflepuff common room and dormitory, and Ian liked it even more than the Gryffindor ones.

The Hufflepuff common room had a low ceiling, and lots of puffy, comfortable arm chairs. It was full of strange and wonderful plants, and it always felt warm and sunny. There was a large bay window overlooking a rippling field of dandelions. The doorways were round, like the tops of barrels, and Ian couldn’t help thinking it was like going into a hobbit hole. Mickey punched him in the arm the first time he mentioned it. Mickey didn’t like being compared to a hobbit. 

“Yeah,” Ian said, rubbing his arm ruefully. “Anyway,” he glanced at Mickey, who was still scowling at him, “you’d make a better ork!” And Ian took off running into the common rooms, Mickey chasing him. Ian saw a door, took it, and ended up in a dorm room. 

Suddenly, there was a loud hissing sound, and Ian was drenched in some sort of slime. Mickey stopped right behind him, avoiding the gunk, and stared as Ian turned around, eyes clenched shut, shoulders raised, arms outstretched slightly, dripping in viscous, yellow goop. Mickey backed up as Ian started to walk forward, and soon they were back in the common room. As Mickey watched, the slime started to grow fuzzy, and soon he was kneeling on the ground, crying with laughter. Some of the older students glared at Mickey as they started to brush off the yellow stuff from Ian’s face, and Mickey just laughed even harder when Ian kicked him lightly.

“You dick,” Ian mumbled. “What was that stuff?”

Mickey was too busy laughing to answer.

“Slime mould,” a Hufflepuff girl said. “I rigged it up to spray boys if they try to come into our dorm.”

“Oh,” Ian said, rubbing some more of the mould off his robes. “That’s a good idea. The stairs in the Gryffindor common room turn to a slide if a boy tries to go up to the girls dorms.”

“Learn that from experience, have you?” The girl was giving him the stink eye.

“One of my friends is a girl Gryffindor, and she stole one of my books.” Ian glared back at the girl. “And who just has enough slime mould to spray it at people?”

The girl just shrugged and walked away.

Mickey was wiping his eyes, calming down. “You’d b-better go have a sh-shower.”

Ian flipped him off, and pulled Mickey to his feet. “Well, then you’re coming, too.”

“Why?” Mickey didn’t remove his hand from Ian’s as they walked towards the prefects bathrooms. “I’ve not got mould on me.”

Ian stopped, turned to face Mickey, and then wrapped his arms around Mickey. The raven haired boy was taken aback, and jerkily put his arms around the smaller red head. But then Mickey knew what Ian was doing, as he started to shimmy up and down Mickey’s body, arms clamped tightly around the Hufflepuff. Mickey tried to pull away, but that just made Ian rub his hair against Mickey’s cheek. He could feel the slime get all over him.

“There,” Ian said as he pulled away. “Now you do.”

“Dickhead,” Mickey mumbled. “How are we even going to get into the bathroom?”

“I have a very good talent of stalking people,” Ian answered, and they stopped at the door to the bathroom. “Evergreen.”

The door swung open.

“I followed some prefects because I wanted to use the amazing bath they have.”

They walked in, making sure the door was closed behind them before they started to disrobe. Ian turned on almost all the taps, and filled the bath with water and bubbles.

“You’re not prefects,” came a voice from behind them.

Mickey nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned to look at the sullen looking girl, floating three inches off the ground right behind him. 

“Hello, Myrtle,” Ian said.

“Who are you?” she snapped.

“I’m Ian Gallagher, and this is my friend Mickey Milkovich,” Ian explained, continuing to pull off his robes. “We need a bath, so we thought we’d come in here.”

“Why?”

“Because we can.”

Myrtle pouted, but shrugged. 

Mickey still had his boxers on before he got into the water. He sat down on the edge of the bath, and then took them off, before quickly slipping into the water. Ian, on the other hand, dropped his pants without a care who saw, and cannonballed into the water. He resurfaced, covered in bubbles, and started to scrub his hair to get the remaining fungus out of his hair. Mickey rubbed some water over his cheek and cleaned him skin. As Ian watched, Mickey seemed to get a shade paler.

“How often do you take a shower?” Ian asked.

“Once a week,” Mickey shrugged. “Why?”

“Because you’re cover in filth,” Ian laughed, swimming over to his friend. He started to scrub Mickey’s shoulders, chest, and neck. Mickey flushed.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

“Because you’re my friend and you’re dirty,” Ian replied simply.

Mickey watched Ian, his cheeks burned, and then leaned forward to place a single, light kiss on Ian’s lips. Ian looked up to meet his eyes and blushed, too, but smiled. He leaned in and kissed Mickey again. This one lasted a little longer.

When they pulled apart, Mickey looked on the verge of tears.

“What’s wrong?” Ian asked.

“I’m not gay,” he whispered, voice a little choked. “I can’t be gay.”

“You’re not,” Ian said quickly. “You’re straight. You just like to kiss me, too.” He smiled. “I like to kiss you, too. We’re just friends, who kiss sometimes, okay?”

Mickey nodded, his breath calming down, his chest ceasing to heave.

“Come on,” Ian said, swimming away from Mickey. “Let’s go back to our dorms.”

***

The next few days were awkward, and Mickey seemed closed off.

“You wanna go to the library later?” Ian asked one day during lunch. He often sat at the Hufflepuff table with Mickey.

“When?” Mickey asked, not meeting Ian’s eyes.

“Um, around five?”

“During dinner?”

“No, after.”

“...okay. But once dinner’s over, and only then.”

Ian nodded. “Are you okay?”

Mickey flushed. “Why? What makes you think I’m not okay?”

“You’re kind of… distant.”

“I’ve just been studying for the final exams.”

“They’re four months away, Mickey.”

“So?”

“...is it because of what happened in the bathroom?”

Mickey stood, pushing his plate away from him. He glared at Ian, his cheeks growing red. “Nothing happened, okay?” He picked up his bag and stormed away.

Ian sighed, collected his bag and plate, and walked over to the Gryffindor table.

“Ian!” Iggy exclaimed as he sat.

“Hi, Iggy,” Ian deadpanned.

“What’s up?”

“Mickey hates me.”

Iggy was quiet. “Did you say no to the prank idea?”

Ian raised a questioning eyebrow. “What prank?”

“Oh, good, I thought you’d pussied out.” Iggy huffed out a breath in relief. “All you need to do is distract Madam Pomfrey.”

“Why?” Ian asked.

“So we can steal some supplies to make some really good shit.”

“What good shit?”

Iggy shrugged. “You know. Drugs.”

Ian nodded. “Will Mickey be helping?”

“He’s a bit reluctant, but yeah.”

“Then I’m in.”

“Awesome!” Iggy raised his arms in triumph, and patted Ian on the back. “So, why do you think Mick hates you?”

Ian shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

Iggy nodded. “Well, he’ll come round.”

The bell rang, and Iggy sighed as the rest of his food vanished. 

“Come on, we’d better get to class.” He stood, but then turned back to Ian. “Meet me by the one eyes witch statue, okay?”

Ian nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

***

The prank failed miserably.

Ian had to fake an illness, and he wasn’t a good actor. Iggy knocked a plant over, Mickey yelled at him for knocking over a valuable medicine plant, the plant started to wail like a baby, and Madam Pomfrey caught them before they could get to her office. She glared at the three boys, and took away ten points each from their houses. They walked away from the hospital wing, each red at the ears, and Iggy was fuming.

“I thought you had it in the bag, Gallagher!” he nearly yelled.

“I can’t act! You never told me I’d have to act!” Ian yelled right back.

“You knocked over a mandrake!” Mickey shouted at Iggy. “Just be luck it was only a seedling, or it could have killed us! We’re lucky it didn’t make us pass out!”

“Who gives a fuck about mandrakes?” Iggy snapped.

“The wizarding community!” Ian snarked. “Mandrakes are used to unpetrify people! You could have gotten us killed!”

"Fuck off, Gallagher!" Iggy shouted.

"Don't yell at him!" Mickey yelled, and he pushed his brother against the wall, and punched him, hard, in the stomach. "Only I can yell at him!"

"Thanks, Mick," Ian said, sarcastically.

"Fuck off, Ian!" Mickey yelled.

Iggy shoved his younger brother away, holding his stomach, and shook his head. "Come on, Gallagher. Let's go back to the common room."

"I'm gonna walk Mickey back to his."

Iggy shrugged. "Whatever." He walked away.

Mickey huffed and started to walk in the opposite direction, grabbing Ian's sleeve as he went. Ian followed, pulling his sleeve from Mickey's hand and replacing it with his own. Mickey's shoulders stiffened slightly.

"No one will see," Ian mumbled, rubbing his thumb over Mickey's knuckles. 

Mickey seemed to relax, and soon they were at the Hufflepuff entrance, and Ian let go of Mickey's hand. Mickey swiped a thumb across his bottom lip and looking at Ian shyly through his eyelashes. He stepped forward, took hold of Ian's shoulders, and placed a small but firm kiss on his lips.

Ian smiled when the raven haired boy pulled away. "What was that for?"

"I'm just glad you're not dead," Mickey muttered, looking at the ground.

Ian kissed him again, wrapping his arms around Mickey's shoulders, and after he pulled Mickey in for a tight hug. "You're the best friend in the entire world, Mickey."

Mickey shrugged, unused to the attention. "You ain't half bad yourself." He wrapped his arms around Ian's waist, returning the hug. "You should probably get back to your common room." He detangled himself from the red haired boy, and smiles at him. "Have a good night."

Ian smiled. "You too."

***

So the year went on, Mickey and Ian skipping classes occasionally to smoke and sometimes to kiss. Mickey excused it as learning how to kiss someone. Ian just liked the affection he got from Mickey. It was going great, until Ian realized they had to go back to London in two short days.

“Schools practically over!” he let out with a frustrated sigh one morning as he sat with Mickey in the Great Hall. “I don’t want to go home!”

“At least we can come back next year,” Mickey mumbled, glaring at his eggs. “And you have the chance of coming back.”

Ian raised a confused copper eyebrow at his best friend. “What do you mean?”

“My dad’s probably going to kill me.” Mickey shrugged. “For being in Hufflepuff, you know? He holds this house in the lowest regards.”

“Oh.” Ian suddenly felt very selfish. If he had known what was going on at the Milkovich household, he never would have acted like he was the one suffering. “I’m sorry.”

Mickey shrugged again.

Ian’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Why don’t you come stay at mine? I’m sure Fiona wouldn’t mind!” 

But Mickey shook his head. “My dad would come find me. It’s no use, I’ve got to go home.”

Ian pouted for his friend.

***

As Ian stood on Platform 9 ¾, he hugged Mickey on last time before the summer. “I will see you next year. Write to me, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mickey grumbled, smiling slightly at his friends dooting. “Just don’t do anything stupid over the summer, okay?”

“You too.” Ian let go of his friend, and shoved his shoulder a little. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Mickey nodded. “Okay.”


End file.
